Janith A. Davis, deputy disciplinary administrator, argued the cause,
and Stanton A. Hazlett, disciplinary
administrator, was with her on the formal complaint for the petitioner.

Mark J. Sachse, respondent, appeared pro se.

Per Curiam: This is an original uncontested proceeding in discipline filed by
the
Disciplinary Administrator's office against Mark J. Sachse, of Kansas City, an attorney admitted
to the practice of law in Kansas.

A hearing before the panel of the Kansas Board for Discipline of Attorneys was held on
August 23, 2005, in the hearing room of the office of Disciplinary Administrator, Topeka,
Kansas. Respondent appeared pro se and stipulated to the facts and to the violations of KRPC as
set forth in the complaint. The panel found the following facts were established by clear and
convincing evidence:

Gallagher Complaint: DA9201

"2. On October 2, 2002, Kevin and Jammi Gallagher retained the Respondent
to expunge
felony convictions of forgery for Mrs. Gallagher. At that time, the Gallaghers paid the
Respondent $500.00
in attorney fees for the representation. Additionally, the Gallaghers provided the Respondent with
a check
made payable for court costs. The Respondent told the Gallaghers that the expungement process
would
take approximately 30 days.

"3. After Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher placed numerous calls to the Respondent's
office to get the
process going, in late December 2002, the Respondent notified Mrs. Gallagher that the
paperwork was
ready to be signed. Mrs. Gallagher signed the pleadings. On January 2, 2003, Mrs. Gallagher
returned the
pleadings to the Respondent's office.

"4. Mr. Gallagher called the Respondent's office numerous times in January
2003, February
2003, and March 2003. Each time Mr. Gallagher called, the Respondent assured Mr. Gallagher
that the
expungement process would be completed in a matter of days. However, the Respondent had not
yet filed
the petition for expungement.

"5. On April 22, 2003, Mr. Gallagher sent the Respondent a letter asking the
Respondent to
complete the expungement by May 2, 2003.

"6. On April 30, 2003, the Respondent filed the petition to expunge Mrs.
Gallagher's
convictions. The Respondent called Mr. Gallagher and assured Mr. Gallagher that he would have
the
expungement completed soon.

"7. After filing the petition, the Respondent took no further action to complete
the
expungement.

"8. Mr. Gallagher called and left a message for the Respondent every month
from May 2003
through November 2003, seeking the status of the expungement. The Respondent failed to return
Mr.
Gallagher's calls.

"9. In December 2003, Mr. Gallagher reached the Respondent by phone. The
Respondent
assured Mr. Gallagher that the matter would be completed within a few days. The Respondent
did not
complete the expungement.

"10. Mr. Gallagher again left messages for the Respondent in January 2004,
February 2004,
March 2004, and April 2004. The Respondent failed to return Mr. Gallagher's calls.

"11. On April 19, 2004, Mr. Gallagher filed a complaint with the Disciplinary
Administrator's
office.

"12. On April 22, 2004, the Disciplinary Administrator wrote to the
Respondent, notified him
that the complaint had been docketed for investigation, enclosed a copy of Mr. Gallagher's
complaint, and
requested that the Respondent provide a written response to Mr. Gallagher's complaint within 20
days.

"13. John Duma, Chairman of the Wyandotte County Ethics and Grievance
Committee, was
assigned to investigate Mr. Gallagher's complaint. On May 3, 2004, Mr. Duma wrote to the
Respondent
and reminded him of his obligation to provide a written response to Mr. Gallagher's complaint.

"14. The Respondent failed to provide a written response to Mr. Gallagher's
complaint.

"15. On May 13, 2004, Mr. Gallagher sent the Respondent letter terminating
the Respondent's
representation and requesting that the Respondent return the attorney fee paid. The Respondent
provided
Mr. and Mrs. Gallagher with a refund of $500.00 and promised to complete the expungement
immediately
at no charge.

"16. After being fired by Mr. Gallagher, on May 24, 2004, the Respondent
refiled the petition
for expungement in Mrs. Gallagher's behalf. The Respondent, however, did not provide a
proposed order
of expungement.

"17. On October 29, 2004, Mr. Duma filed an order of expungement in behalf
of Mrs.
Gallagher.

Lantos Complaint: DA9259

"18. The Respondent agreed to represent Javier Ortega, who was detained in a
jail in Tulsa,
Oklahoma. Mr. Ortega did not speak or understand the English language. The Respondent hired
Sebastian
Lantos, a certified court interpreter to interpret from and translate into Spanish.

"19. On August 12, 2002, Mr. Lantos provided translation services during a jail
visit with Mr.
Ortega. On that same date, Mr. Lantos' office sent the Respondent a bill for $60.00. The
Respondent did
not pay the bill.

"20. Beginning November 3, 2002, and continuing through April 28, 2004, Mr.
Lantos and
his office staff left numerous messages and sent numerous reminders regarding the outstanding
bill. Still,
the Respondent did not pay the bill.

"21. Then, on May 5, 2004, Mr. Lantos filed a complaint with the Disciplinary
Administrator's office.

"22. On May 11, 2004, the Disciplinary Administrator wrote to the Respondent,
enclosed a
copy of Mr. Lantos' complaint, and requested that the Respondent provide a written response to
Mr.
Lantos' complaint within 15 days. The Respondent did not provide a written response to the
complaint.

"23. On June 23, 2004, the Disciplinary Administrator wrote to the Respondent
for a second
time. The Disciplinary Administrator enclosed a copy of the May 11, 2004, letter and again
directed the
Respondent to provide a written response to the complaint. The Disciplinary Administrator
provided the
Respondent with an additional 10 days to respond to the complaint. The Respondent did not
provide a
written response to the complaint.

"24. On July 13, 2004, the Disciplinary Administrator wrote to the Respondent
regarding Mr.
Lantos' complaint for the third time. The Disciplinary Administrator informed the Respondent
that Mr.
Lantos' complaint had been docketed for investigation. The Disciplinary Administrator provided
the
Respondent with an additional 20 days to provide a written response to the complaint.

"25. Mr. Duma was appointed to investigate Mr. Lantos' complaint. On July 19,
2004, Mr.
Duma wrote to the Respondent and reminded him to provide a written response to the complaint.

"26. The Respondent did not provide a written response to Mr. Lantos'
complaint.
Additionally, it appears that the Respondent still has not paid Mr. Lantos.

"27. The Respondent stipulated to each and all of the foregoing facts at the
hearing."

The panel made the following conclusions of law:

"1. Based upon the findings of fact, the Hearing Panel concludes as a matter
of law that the
Respondent violated KRPC 1.1, KRPC 1.3, KRPC 1.4, KRPC 3.2, KRPC 8.1(b), KRPC 8.4(g),
and Kan.
Sup. Ct. R. 207(b), as detailed below. At the hearing, the Respondent stipulated and agreed that
he
committed these violations of the Rules.

"2. Lawyers must provide competent representation to their clients. KRPC
1.1. 'Competent
representation requires the legal knowledge, skill, thoroughness and preparation reasonably
necessary for
the representation.' The Respondent failed to competently represent Mrs. Gallagher when he
failed to
prepare the order of expungement. Accordingly, the Hearing Panel concludes that the
Respondent violated
KRPC 1.1.

"3. Attorneys must act with reasonable diligence and promptness in
representing their
clients. See KRPC 1.3. In this case, the Respondent failed to provide diligent
representation to Mrs.
Gallagher when he failed to timely file and prosecute the petition for expungement. Because the
Respondent failed to act with reasonable diligence and promptness in representing Mrs.
Gallagher, the
Hearing Panel concludes that the Respondent violated KRPC 1.3.

"4. KRPC 1.4(a) provides that '[a] lawyer shall keep a client reasonably
informed about the
status of a matter and promptly comply with reasonable requests for information.' In this case, the
Respondent violated KRPC 1.4(a) when he failed to return Mr. Gallagher's telephone calls and
provide him
with information regarding the status of Mrs. Gallagher's expungement. Accordingly, the Hearing
Panel
concludes that the Respondent violated KRPC 1.4(a).

"5. An attorney violates KRPC 3.2 if he fails to make reasonable efforts to
expedite litigation
consistent with the interests of his client. In this case, the Respondent failed to expedite Mrs.
Gallagher's
expungement case. On April 30, 2003, the Respondent filed a petition for expungement for the
first time.
Thereafter, the Respondent took no action to prosecute the petition. Over a year later and not
until after the
representation was terminated, the Respondent filed a second petition for expungement.
Accordingly, the
Hearing Panel concludes that the Respondent violated KRPC 3.2.

"6. 'It is professional misconduct for a lawyer to . . . engage in any other
conduct that
adversely reflects on the lawyer's fitness to practice law.' KRPC 8.4(g). The Respondent engaged
the
services of a certified court interpreter and then failed to pay for the services. The Respondent
violated
KRPC 8.4(g) when he failed to pay Mr. Lantos' bill.

"It shall be the duty of each member of the bar of this state to aid the
Supreme Court, the Disciplinary Board, and the Disciplinary Administrator in
investigations concerning complaints of misconduct, and to communicate to the
Disciplinary Administrator any information he or she may have affecting such
matters. Kan. Sup. Ct. R. 207(b).

The Respondent knew that he was required to forward a written response to the initial
complaints–he had
been repeatedly instructed to do so in writing by the Disciplinary Administrator and Mr. Duma.
Because
the Respondent knowingly failed to provide a written response to the initial complaints filed by
Mr.
Gallagher and Mr. Lantos as requested by the Disciplinary Administrator and Mr. Duma, the
Hearing Panel
concludes that the Respondent knowingly violated KRPC 8.1(b) and Kan. Sup. Ct. R. 207(b)."

The panel applied the ABA Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions and considered
ABA Standard 3 in making its recommendation as to the discipline to be imposed against the
respondent.

The panel found the following aggravating factors: three prior disciplinary offenses
(respondent was informally admonished for having violated KRPC 1.15 (2005 Kan. Ct. R.
Annot. 431) and KRPC 1.3 (2005 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 369) and placed on supervised probation
for violations of KRPC 1.1, 1.3, 1.4[a], 1.15, 3.2, and Supreme Court Rule 207), a pattern of
misconduct, multiple offenses, obstruction of the disciplinary process, and substantial experience
in the practice of law. The panel found several mitigating circumstances including
acknowledgment of the violations and absence of a dishonest or selfish motive.

In addition to the above-cited factors, the panel has thoroughly examined and considered
Standards 7.2 and 8.2. Those standards provide:

"Suspension is generally appropriate when a lawyer knowingly engages in conduct that is
a
violation of a duty owed to the profession, and causes injury or potential injury to a client, the
public, or the legal system." Standard 7.2.

"Suspension is generally appropriate when a lawyer has been reprimanded for the same or
similar
misconduct and engages in further acts of misconduct that cause injury or potential injury to a
client, the public, the legal system, or the profession." Standard 8.2.

The panel then concluded its recommendation as follows:

"While the Respondent requested that the Hearing Panel recommend that the
Respondent be
censured, he failed to put on any evidence in mitigation which would support such a request.
Indeed, other
than his own oral argument, the Respondent failed to present any semblance of remorse for his
conduct.
When questioned by the Hearing Panel regarding the lack of evidence, the Respondent failed to
provide an
adequate explanation for the lack of evidence.

"Because the Respondent has previously received probation for earlier misconduct
and because he
failed to cooperate in the disciplinary investigations, the Hearing Panel unanimously
recommends that the
Respondent be suspended from the practice of law in the state of Kansas for a period of one
year."

Respondent filed an exception to the panel's application of the American Bar
Association's Standards and recommendation of discipline.

The Deputy Disciplinary Administrator also recommends that the respondent be
suspended for 1 year.

The court, having considered the record herein and the reports of the hearing panel,
concurs in the findings, conclusions, and recommendation of the panel.

IT IS THEREFORE ORDERED that Mark J. Sachse be suspended from the practice of
law in the state of Kansas for a period of 1 year, effective the date of this opinion, in accordance
with Supreme Court Rule 203(a)(2) (2005 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 247).

IT IS FURTHER ORDERED that respondent fully comply with Supreme Court Rule 218
(2005 Kan. Ct. R. Annot. 315), that the costs of these proceedings be assessed to the respondent,
and this opinion be published in the official Kansas Reports.

DAVIS, J., not participating.

BUSER, J., assigned.1

1REPORTER'S NOTE: Judge Michael B. Buser, of the
Kansas Court of Appeals, was
appointed to hear case No. 95,240 vice Justice Davis pursuant to the authority vested in the
Supreme Court by K.S.A. 20-3002(c).